Velocity
by katiesparks
Summary: AU It was a strange feeling to have, knowing someone is ultimately bad for you and only wanting them more because of it. And while she knew he was not a nice person, she couldn't help but think he was. After all, he'd always been kind to her. HK
1. Sudden

"Almost there!" Kazuha rasped as she ran from her pursuers, speaking aloud to encourage herself. The phone booth up ahead glimmered in the light of the flickering streetlamps and she knew, if she could just get there and close the door, she could call for help and she'd be safe. But, despite the fact that she was in shape and a quick runner as well, the two men caught up with her before she even got close.

"Gotcha!" the taller of the two said in triumph as his hand closed around her wrist in a iron grasp. She opened her mouth and screamed as loud as she could before he clamped a hand over her lips. "Shut up, bitch, or we'll have to do this the hard way. Either way is fine with me, but I'd hate to mess up your pretty face." He sneered, forcefully turning her head to make her look him in the eyes, her own eyes large and shimming with her barely restrained terror.

He began walking then, dragging her along by her head and waist toward an alley off to the side of the sidewalk, his comrade following close behind him. Above them, the streetlights flickered sporadically, going dim, then bright, before flickering out completely for a few seconds and then coming on yet again, only to repeat the process.

"Hey!" came a voice from behind them and they all turned around immediately, Kazuha's eyes lighting up as she saw the man who she was sure would save her. "What do you two dick-heads think you're doing?!"

The man removed his hand from Kazuha's mouth in a flash, but kept one arm around her waist. "Hattori! We aren't doing nothing. Just going for a stroll."

The other man, Hattori, sneered at them. "You think I believe that load of shit? I told you, no more of that on my turf!"

He was dark skinned, though not in a foreign way, and dressed in what her father had often referred to as hooligan's clothes, his shirt and pant's ripped and shredded strategically so that it looked as though he were tough, but didn't show anything inappropriate. Over his shirt he had a relatively intact blue jacket and on top of his head was a worn looking SAX hat. Overall, he did not look all too threatening until you got to the boken that was in is grip, the wooden blade resting on his shoulder.

"We weren't going to do anything to her, Heiji-kun." The second of the men said and the other one whispered harshly in Kazuha's ear, warning her against speaking out unless she wanted to die. "Isn't that right, miss?"

The Hattori turned to her and her captor's fingers tightened painfully on her waist in warning. "Yes." She said and then mouthed the words 'Help me.'

He saw immediately and marched over, grabbing her upper arm and wrenching her free of the man's grip. He took the wooden sword and whacked both men across their foreheads in a single swipe. "I said no more of this bullshit! You think you can get away with this in _my _city, on _my _turf? Think again! I catch either one of you doing anything like this again, even hear _talk _of it and you won't be out of the hospitals until you're a couple of old hags! Got it?"

The boys nodded, hands clutching their bruised skulls. "Yes, Boss, of course. We just don't much like the new rules and-."

"And what? I said no more and I meant it, do you understand? Make sure the rest of you scum know it too." Heiji glanced back at Kazuha, who was standing slightly behind him, feeling more like a scared little girl than the twenty-two year old she was. "Come on, miss, I'll walk ya home."

He turned and began walking and she turned and stumbled sprinting slightly to keep pace with the tan man and looking behind her every couple of seconds to make sure the other two weren't following them.

"Name's Hattori Heiji. You?" he said after a minute or so and she looked at him in shock.

"Toyama Kazuha. Thank you for saving me, Hattori-san." She said, brushing aside the butterflies in her chest when she saw his eyes looking at her intensively.

"Was nothing. Don't you know better than to be out at this time of night in this part of the city?" he questioned and she felt slightly indignant.

"I was doing a community service project for college and ran late." She said haughtily and his eyes sparkled in amusement.

"Oh, a good girl, huh?" Idly, he looked over and noticed her shaking slightly. "Hey, you cold?"

Kazuha shook herself once, stopping her slight quivering nearly instantaneously. "No."

Heiji shrugged and went back to looking ahead, but out of the corner of his eye he watched her begin shaking again and sighed, pulling off his coat and dropping it over her shoulders without ceremony. "Don't lie, you stupid girl. If you're cold, you're cold, admit to it the first time."

Kazuha blushed but made no attempt to give the coat back to him. "Where are we going?"

Heiji blinked. "Your house, of course, I said I was walking you home and you never said we weren't going in the right direction. We are, aren't we?"

"Ah, yes, it's about a block from here I think. Aoyama Daichi Mansion, you know where that is?" Kazuha said, slightly flustered.

"Yeah, come on, I know a short cut." Heiji said and they cut through an alley, coming out right in front of the building. Heiji walked with her all the way up to her door and she unlocked it, standing in the open doorway shyly, unsure if she should invite him in.

"Did you want to come in?" she asked and he looked as though he did but shook his head no, hands in his pockets. "Thanks again for rescuing me....ah, goodnight."

Suddenly, he grabbed her and pressed his lips against hers in a hard, hungry kiss that left her feeling weak in the knees. Just as suddenly as he had started it, he ended it, pulling away swiftly and breathing heavily, his eyes on hers and she thought to herself that he looked surprised, as if he was the one who had been kissed out of nowhere, instead of being the one who had initiated it.

Quickly, jerkily, he stepped back from her and began walking away without a word, his steps seeming sort of off, in a sense.

"Are you sure you don't want to come in?" she called and he paused before beginning to walk away again, raising his hand behind him in a silent farewell. Sighing, she shut the door, turning the lock as she did, and leaned against it, her heart still fluttering widely in her chest.

What in the world had just happened?

* * *

**Okay, so I lied. This is the next one of Kirby's Pet Projects**. **The vampire!Heiji one is still in the works, mind you, I might even post the first chapter of it tomorrow and do a back and forth sort of thing if I feel up to it. It all depends. But this one worked it's way into my mind approx. six hours ago and hasn't shut up since then.**

**KIRBY: I rather like it myself. Heiji's going to be a bad boy in this one and Kazuha's going to try and change him or something, I don't really know. Or, I do know, I just don't know how to explain it. She doesn't want him to change, really she just wants him to be...himself, I guess. Ah, it's a confusing concept. We'll get to it eventually.**

**So either, please continue to support us! We'll be out of school all next week, so if we get some good feedback, we'll make sure to have lots of lovely little chapters for you to read!  
**


	2. Visitor

It was only later that she realized she still had the man's jacket draped around her shoulders. She blushed and removed it, hanging it on her coat hanger and thinking that she would have to find some way to get it back to him.

The days continued on diligently after that incident, as they always do, but it would not allow itself to be pushed from her mind. Like an annoying nat on a hot summer's day, it refused to be brushed off. It kept coming back, the feeling of his presence beside her, the worn texture of his jacket (which she hadn't worn nor touched since that night), the enveloping pressure of his lips on hers. That was the sensation she recalled most often, the way his arms had wrapped around her, the way his lips were rough and chapped and tasting slightly of nicotine gum, the desire to _kiss him back, damn it _that she had almost acted upon before he pulled away. She wished she had stopped him from leaving. She was glad she had let him leave.

She tried to forget. But it just wasn't in the cards.

Nearly a month after that night, a knock sounded on her unit's door and she opened it to find a well dressed young man there, one that she recognized from reading the paper every morning before she realized she was late and ran out the door, sometimes even forgetting to lock it behind her.

"Kudo Shinichi?" she gasped out and he grinned, obviously proud that his reputation had proceeded him.

"Yes ma'am. Are you a Toyama Kazuha-san?" he questioned politely and she nodded stepping aside.

"Would you like to come in, Kudo-san?" she asked and he nodded, stepping over the threshold and exchanging his shoes for slippers when she offered them to him.

As he was slipping out of his shoes, he noticed the blue jacket still hanging on the coat rack. "Ah, Toyama-san, whose jacket might that be over there? The blue one?"

Kazuha blushed. "No one's, Kudo-san, please, come into the living room and I'll prepare some tea."

"I'll pass on the tea, if you don't mind. I have some questions for you regarding a case I've been working on for quite some time now. Would it bother you to answer them for me?" Shinichi asked, his tone ever polite as he sat on the large sofa in her living room. She sat adjacent to him in a small loveseat and raised her eyebrows.

"A case? I haven't been involved in any cases for years, Kudo-san; not since I moved out of my father's house. And all of them that I know of were closed nearly as soon as they were opened." She said and Shinichi shook his head, a grin dancing across his face for a moment.

"Actually, I want to ask you about any encounters you might have had with a man by the name of Hattori Heiji. I've been tracking him for years, but I can never get a pin on the guy. And now he's got my fiancé. So, you see, while I doubt Hattori would ever hurt Ran, he feels some kind of sisterly affection for her, I would really like to have her back as soon as possible. So any information you have would be extremely useful." Shinichi said, still smiling at Kazuha as she gasped.

"He just saved me from some street punks one day and walked me home. I haven't seen him since, but he did forget his jacket here." She said, waving a hand towards the aforementioned article of clothing.

"So he gave you that jacket?" Shinichi asked and Kazuha detected a note of _something _in his voice and a strange kind of glimmer in his eyes.

"Yes, he saw me shivering and dropped it on me while berating me for lying about whether I was cold or not." Kazuha said and the glimmering intensified.

"That's strange. Hattori's not exactly known for his kindness to strangers, per se. Are you sure he _only _walked you home, Toyama-san? He didn't come in or anything?" Shinichi asked and Kazuha blushed violently.

"I invited him in, but he refused and left..." Kazuha said, trailing off and Shinichi noticed.

"He just left you there and walked away? Is that _it?_" he questioned, leaning forward and Kazuha's eyes darted back and forth before settling on his and sighing.

"He kissed me, out of nowhere and then he left, looking confused or something of the like. That's it, I swear." Kazuha said at length and Shinichi looked almost as though he was glowing in his triumph.

"Ne, Toyama-san, would you mind doing me a favor? Nothing too bad, I promise. The thing is, I really would like to get Ran back soon and I have the feeling, if you're in the right place at the right time, you might just be able to return that jacket to Hattori. What do you say?" Shinichi said, his eyes glimmering and Kazuha thought he looked something like a child being offered something sweet and sugary and overall, very bad for their health; absolutely delighted.

But, she could not deny that she wanted to see her strange savior from that night once again. "Okay, Kudo-san, I'm in. What do you need me to do?"


	3. Walk

As she wandered through deserted alleyways and decrepit streets in what was possibly the worst possible part of town, wearing _his_ jacket and humming cheerful songs under her breath, Kazuha recalled Kudo Shinichi's smooth tones, heard his voice as he explained to her how she would lure the ever elusive Hattori Heiji out of hiding.

"_All you must do, Kazuha-san, is simply wear his jacket and walk around the bad parts of town. Everyone will recognize that jacket, I've never seen another one that looks exactly the small and, though you probably haven't noticed this yet, he still hasn't gotten it cleaned from the last time he gotten into a fight. See there, it still has the tear and the blood on it. Everyone knows about that particular fight. Now, the people who see you will do one of three things. One, being smart, they will conclude that you having his jacket means you are his girlfriend and will decide not to approach you and possibly tell their boss, that's Hattori, about the young woman wandering around wearing his jacket. Two, not being smart, but not being stupid, they will see you and decide to ask you where you got the jacket and, if you tell them that you are looking for Hattori, will take you to where ever he's hiding with minimal trouble or will simply follow you around to see where you are going and what you are doing with plans to tell there boss later. And finally, three, being stupid, they will see the jacket, conclude that you are his girlfriend or that you have stolen it from him, and attack you with plans to either take you down, because that would push Hattori out of power, or simply take the jacket from you in hopes of reward. Either way, the stupid ones will not leave you unharmed."_

"_But, Shinichi-san, even if I was his girlfriend, how would hurting me push Hattori-san out of power?"_

"_Kazuha-san, I did say those were the stupid ones, didn't I?"_

"_Oh, yes, of course. So you just want me to walk around? What if I get hurt?"_

"_Don't worry, I'll be watching the whole time and I'm more than enough to handle a couple of Hattori's drones. We'll hope that one of the first two kinds finds you, that way, it'll take less time to get you there."_

"_Okay. I'm trusting you, Shinichi-san."_

"_Good, as long as you manage that, I promise, no harm will come to you."_

She was on a street now that looked particularly worn down, the pavement and sidewalks cracked and an old police box standing abandoned on the corner. She peered inside of it, shocked to see a couple of rough looking teenagers inhabiting it.

"Oh, I'm sorry!" she said quickly, backing out of the box. She moved to continue her walk when they emerged from inside, looking even worse in the orange glow of the streetlights overhead, which were dim, but not flickering.

"Oi, miss! Where'd you get the jacket?" One of them asked before spitting a glob of chewing tobacco onto the street.

"Ah, a dark skinned young man gave it to me as he was walking me home. I forgot to return it to him before he'd left. Might you know where I could find him?" Kazuha inquired politely and the teenagers exchanged a glance.

"Think she meant the boss?" the second one asked and the first one shrugged heavily before spitting again.

"You know his name, miss?" he asked her and Kazuha cocked her head sideways n an expression of concentration.

"I can't quite remember his surname, but I'm sure hs given name was Heiji." Kazuha said after a pause the two nodded at each other.

"We can take you to see him, miss. But it's a bit of a walk. Do ya mind?" the second one said and Kazuha smiled at him throwing him off a bit.

"Not at all. Lead the way." She said and they shrugged their shoulders and began walking, only glancing behind them once to make sure she was following.

After several minutes, she began to notice all the attention they'd attracted. People, mostly men, of all ages were appearing out from crumbling storefronts and hanging off decaying fire escapes, watching the procession with interest.

"Um, miss? You might wanna come walk up here in between us. And take that jacket off until we get closer. My an' my brother can handle most anyone, but it's better if we don't have ta, dontcha agree?" said the second one after several more minutes of this and she nodded, taking of the jacket and hanging it over her arm before moving to stand in between the two teenagers. She smiled at the second one again and he returned it warily this time. She decided she liked him best out of the two.

Finally, after what seemed like forever, they entered a building and walked down the stairs into the cellar. But, instead of a normal basement, she found they'd entered a crumbling set of tunnels that appeared to go under the street. There were several turn offs and at length, the boys picked one to walk down and knocked the second door they found.

"Whose there?" chirped a small voice that Kazuha was stunned to hear. A child was down here, but what about Heiji?

"Conan-kun! It's Masato and Manabu, we need ta see the boss. It's urgent." The second one said and the door opened to reveal a normal looking entry way to what appeared to be an average flat. It just happened to be underground. Right.

The door was opened by a small child wearing a green hooded T-shirt and a pair of cutoff shorts who smiled at them cheerfully, his blue eyes twinkling behind the huge glasses that were sitting on his nose. "Sato-niisan! Nabu-niisan! Guess what-Who's that?" the child asked, cutting himself off as he pointed at Kazuha.

"That's why we came. Is the boss in?" Masato asked and Conan nodded.

"You can come in, but you have to be quiet. Okay? Shh." He said, putting his finger over his lips and tiptoeing down the hall, motioning for them to do the same. The three of them exchanged their shoes for slippers and followed behind him. He glared at them when they did not tiptoe as well and, sighing, Masato motioned for Kazuha to begin the overdramatic tiptoeing along with him and his brother.

After about a minute of this, they reached the correct door and Conan stopped knocking on it. "Heiji-niichan! Masato-niisan and Manabu-niisan have some urgent business for you!"

"Hold on!" came the reply and the sounds of random thumps and thuds were heard, along with mild cursing until the door finally swung open to reveal the dark skinned man. Who looked exactly the same as the first time she had seen him, minus the jacket.

"You!" he said, spotting Kazuha immediately. "What are _you_ doing here!?"


	4. Captive

"I-I could ask you the same question! Why are you living underground? Huh? And who's that kid? Well?" Kazuha said, stuttering for an answer.

"How is that any of your business? Masato!" Heiji barked and the young man stood to attention immediately.

"Yes, boss?" he said and Heiji glared at him.

"Who gave you permission to bring this woman down here?" He demanded and Masato gulped loudly.

"Well, boss, she was wearin' your jacket an' she said she was looking for you. We thought she was your girlfriend an' that you'd be angry if we didn't help her out." Masato said and Heiji blushed.

"She is _not _my girlfriend. And why do you have my jacket anyways?" Heiji said angrily, turning to Kazuha with a sharp turn of his head and Kazuha jumped back in shock before glaring at him.

"Idiot! You _gave _me the jacket and then _forgot _to get it back! It's your fault! And I would've remembered if you hadn't-." Kazuha cut herself off, blushing heavily and Heiji began blushing again as well.

Conan leaned over to Masato. "This is getting good!" he whispered and Masato nodded.

Suddenly, there was a noise from one of the other rooms that they had just tiptoed past, cutting the 'conversation' off.

"Ah, Ran-neechan!" Conan exclaimed, scurrying into the room and Heiji pushed past the group and followed him into the room, Kazuha and Masato following right behind him and Manabu trailed behind the group at much more subdued pace, still chewing on a hunk of tobacco.

Inside the room was a young woman who Kazuha assumed was Shinichi's missing fiancé, Ran. She was lying on a futon in the middle of the room, Conan knelling over her and helping her get a drink of water from a cup. Heiji hovered over them, watching carefully, but not interfering.

Kazuha moved closer and was able to hear what the boy was staying to the young woman. "...don't worry, you look a lot better already, you'll be able to leave and find Shinichi-niichan in no time, you'll see. I'll bet he's real worried about you, so you need to get better soon or he'll start doing crazy things again. Like, remember that one time, when you went out to get groceries and then found that dead body and had to stay and you left you phone at home and he got so worried he called the police and then the police left the crime scene to go look for you and when you figured out why they left you were so mad that you made him cook his own supper? Remember that, Ran-neechan?"

"Yes, I remember, Conan-kun. I'm sorry for making you take care of me like this." She answered softly, her voice incredibly hoarse.

"It's okay, I don't mind." Conan answered and Kazuha stepped closer.

"Excuse me, Ran-san?" Kazuha said and the young woman looked at her, smiling wearily.

"Hello." She said before coughing loudly.

"Shinichi-san actually sent me to find you, he was supposed to be following me but I think we lost him when we went underground. He was pretty upset about you being gone, though he didn't seem to worried about you being with Heiji-san." Kazuha said and Heiji's eyebrows furrowed.

"Of course not. I _did _say I was going to visit Hattori-kun and Conan-kun. And everyone around here knows better than to mess with me." Ran said. "I don't doubt that Shinichi's having conniptions though, he's so protective." Ran said.

"Masato, Manabu," Heiji said suddenly and the two twins looked up.

"Yes, boss?" they said in unison before glaring at each other.

"Go find Kudo, he should be snooping around the warehouse, that's the one you used, isn't it?" they nodded and he continued. "Tell him we'll send Neechan out over near my old base and he can pick her up there."

"Um, boss?" Masato said and Heiji raised his eyebrows, giving him permission to continue. "The girl said Kudo sent her, shouldn't we send her back with Ran-san?"

Heiji looked at Kazuha out of the corners of his eyes before turning back to his underling. "No, she's staying here."

"What?" Kazuha said, glaring at the dark skinned man in shock. "I am not staying here!"

"Yes, you are. You know where this place is now. Neechan does too, but she won't tell and Kudo knows better than to ask. You, on the other hand, would have no problem showing him this place and it takes a lot of work to get a place like this. So, you are going to stay here until I'm sure you won't go telling Kudo where we are." Heiji said and Kazuha thought to herself that he looked slightly smug about it. "Besides, Conan gets lonely here by himself; you'll make good company for him."

"I'm just going to leave after you leave." Kazuha said haughtily and Heiji laughed, as if it were a ridiculous idea.

"Look at the lock, girl." He said and she did, noticing that handle hand a key lock on the inside.

"What kind of idiot makes it possible to lock himself inside his house?" Kazuha demanded.

"He did that right after I moved in with him." Conan supplied helpfully. "I like to explore the tunnels and Heiji-niichan doesn't like me to explore the tunnels, so he got a lock that can lock from both sides so he can make sure I can't leave when he's gone. It's so boring!"

Heiji turned back to the twins. "Well, why are you two still here. I said to go, didn't I?" He demanded and they left hurriedly.

"Conan, get all of Neechan's things together for her. You-Kazuha-san, was it?-wake Neechan back up and tell her she's about to leave."

Kazuha grumbled but woke up the young woman.

"Oh, sorry, I didn't mean to fall asleep again." Ran said, sitting up with some help and smiling at the other girl.

"No problem. You're about to leave here a go back to Shinichi-san." Kazuha said and Ran nodded.

"Ah, this trip didn't go at all how I planned!" Ran exclaimed and Kazuha raised her eyebrows, wondering how she _expected _it to go.

"How do you know Heiji-san anyways, you don't seem like the type to be involved in this type of deal." Kazuha said and Ran smiled.

"It happened about a year or so ago. Shinichi was investigating the double-homicide of a middle aged couple, the Edogawas. They had a young son who was key witness to the case, Conan-kun. Shinichi didn't want him in police daycare and offered to take him in, but I was the one who really kept him. It turns out the Edogawas were involved in some gang activities, a rival group of Hattori-kun's, though he didn't kill them or order for them to be killed. But, someone from Hattori-kun's gang was definitely the murder and Hattori-kun doesn't tolerate murder within his subordinates. He and Shinichi ended up working together to track down the murder. To make a long story short, they did catch the man, but Conan-kun nearly got killed in the process, only to be saved by Hattori-kun at the last second. Out of gratitude, and no small amount of hero-worship, Conan-kun decided to live with Hattori-kun and it's been that way ever since. I get worried about him though so I bring food and clothes by sometimes, that's what I was doing down here, but then I passed out. I suppose my cold was worse that I thought." Ran said sheepishly.

"Wow, that's quite a story!" Kazuha exclaimed and Ran smiled again.

"Happens all the time. That's what I get for falling in love with the most arrogant, mystery-loving detective this side of the Pacific." Ran said and Kazuha saw the affection hidden in her eyes when she spoke of he soon-to-be husband.

"Hey, Neechan, time to go! You gonna make it or does Masato need to carry you?" Heiji called.

"Tell him I'll be fine, my voice is too hoarse to yell it back." Ran said.

"She says she'll be fine!" Kazuha yelled and helped the sick girl to her feet.

In the foyer, Conan was handing a bundle to Manabu and instructing Masato to be very careful with his Ran-neechan or he would be taking a long walk of a short pier. Even funnier than the idea of the fact a seven year old was threatening a teenager nearly three times his size was the fact the he seemed to be taking the child seriously. Kazuha handed Ran off to Masato, who grasped Ran by the upper arm to keep her steady but offered no more assistance. Apparently, he was accustomed to Ran's pride.

They walked out and Heiji turned, smiling down at Conan. "I've got to go too, Conan. Wasashi needs to be taught a lesson about bringing children into his affairs. What do you think would be more effective, the boken or my gun?"

"The boken, for sure." Conan answered immediately.

Heiji grinned. "Great. Show Kazuha-san around and keep her out of my room, 'kay, scamp?"

"Sure thing, Heiji-niichan! Bye!" Conan called and Heiji walked out the door, shutting it behind him and Kazuha could hear the lock turning and clicking into place.

The light in the foyer began blinking before going out completely and Kazuha sighed. It just wasn't her day, was it?


	5. Bonding

"...and this is my room, and that's our guest room, and this is the living room, and that's the kitchen. Do you know how to cook?" Conan said, without taking a breath as he led her around the moderately sized apartment. His last question was asked with large, puppy-dog eyes directed right at her and she groaned.

"Yes, Conan-kun, I can cook." She admitted grudgingly. Looking at the kitchen, (and the copious amounts of take out boxes and ramen packages on the counters and in the trash) Kazuha decided that Heiji did not know how to cook.

The boy's face lit up like a Christmas tree upon her admission and he ran over to the refrigerator, throwing open the door. "Do you know what to do with this stuff?"

Inside was enough food to feed a family of four for a week, though, from the smell, she assumed a good percentage of it had been in there much longer than a week. Moaning again, she pinched the bridge of her nose. "Conan-kun, where did you get all of this? It's obvious neither one of you can cook."

Conan smiled at her innocently. "Ran-neechan brings us stuff every week or two. I think she thinks Heiji-niichan can cook. I haven't told her he can't yet because sometimes she brings ham or turkey and I get to eat it out of the package!"

Kazuha shook her head. "Right. I'll make you a deal, Conan-kun. Help me clean out all the rotten stuff in the fridge and I'll make you something good for dinner, okay?"

"Okay!" Conan said happily and the two of them set to work. Nearly an hour later, Kazuha pronounced them done and flopped back with a sigh.

"That," she said. ", was _disgusting._"

"The green stuff was cool." Conan put in before tugging on her arm. "Dinner time, dinner time! Come on, Kazuha-neechan, you _promised!_"

Kazuha froze. "What did you call me?" she asked in soft voice.

Conan looked down then, tapping the tip of his slipper against the linoleum bashfully. "You don't mind, do you? I could call you neesan, if you wanted...."

Kazuha laughed then and stood up, ruffling the boy's hair affectionately with her hand. "Neechan is fine, Conan-kun. You're too sweet. Now, that chicken in there was still good, how about we cook that? I think you guys had some grease over here, we could fry it? How does that sound?"

Conan beamed. "That sounds great! Can I help?"

Kazuha stifled giggles at his eagerness. "Of course. So first..."

Several hours later, long after they'd finished cooking and eating their meal, and when the clock was nearing 11:00, Conan began to look droopy-eyed and Kazuha smiled, tired herself after such a long day.

"Conan-kun, what time will Heiji-san be back?" she said and he blinked slowly and yawn.

"Who knows? I just hope he didn't get hurt this time because I'm too _tired_ to help him." Conan said blearily.

Kazuha made a disapproving sort of hum in the back of her throat. "Should we wait up for him?"

Conan shook his head. "Nuh uh."

Sighing, Kazuha stood up and smiled down on the child. "Well, how about we both get some sleep then. I'll tuck you in, if you want?"

Conan nodded, but made no move to stand up and Kazuha just picked him up off the sofa they'd been lying on. He didn't protest as she carried him to the room he'd said was his. She put him on the bed and undressed him before pulling his pajamas on. Conan made no protest about this either and she wondered if he would've if he'd been more awake. The boy had run her wild that night and Kazuha was left with the impression that the young child was rather attention starved; having lived down here for more than a year.

She started to leave when he'd made a noise of protest from under the covers. "Conan-kun?"

"Will you tell me a bed time story, Kazuha-neechan?" he said and she smiled faintly and flicked off the lights before going to stretch out on the bed next to him. He scooted as close to her as he could get with her arm in between them, but twitched uncomfortably and, with an amused sigh, she lifted the arm and put it around his skinny little shoulders. He scooted even closer then, fitting his body into the small nook created where her arm met her body.

"What kind of story do you want to hear?" she asked and he murmured unintelligibly into her side. "What was that?"

"A fairytale." He said and she nodded.

"Once upon a time, a princess was saved from two evil wizards by a lone knight in black armor....."

When he returned hours later, covered in small scratches, but otherwise unharmed, the first thing Heiji did was go to check on his 'guest'. When he couldn't find her in the guest room or the living room, he grew suspicious.

'_There's no way Conan would've shown her the back door, right? Little runt, I'll just go ask him where she ran off to.'_

Needless to say, when Heiji peered into his young friend's room, he was shocked to see them both there, Kazuha curled up on top of the covers in a ball that curled around the lump that was Conan, whose head was all but smashed in between the woman's boobs. For a moment, Heiji wondered what it would be like to be in Conan's position, but, shaking the thought from his head; Heiji threw a throw blanket over the young woman and shut the door on the two before retreating to his room. Who ever said there was "no rest for the wicked" was being very harsh.


	6. Thanks

The days that passed after that first night were short and filled with the laughter and happiness that comes with making new friends, only tinged by the bitterness that she was not permitted to leave. It had nearly been a week since she'd been outside, by now her teachers would've noticed her absence. The thought consoled her a bit, in its own way, she had probably not been forgotten yet.

"Heiji-kun." Kazuha greeted one night as he came in the door late again.

"Kazuha-chan." He said in return, mocking her without even the slightest intonation to his voice. His eyes drifted to the living room, where the lights were still on and a small shadow moved and shifted. He assumed Conan was still awake and wondered if the late hour was good for the boy before shaking off the thought.

Suddenly, the girl's face lit up in bought of determination and she walked right up him so that they were nearly nose to nose. "I need a favor."

Heiji felt his eyebrows rise. "A favor? What is it then?"

Kazuha backed off a little, but kept her voice low. "That boy in there is an absolute genius and you are inhibiting him, keeping him down here like this. If you aren't going to allow him to go to school, at least pick up some workbooks and let me teach him while I'm here. And bring him some fun books too, he loves to read, the few he's got are so worn I can barely read them at all. Do you understand me, Heiji-kun? I refuse to allow him to stay down here and become useless!"

Heiji narrowed his eyes. "What gives you the idea you can boss me around on how to treat someone who I've been taking care of for at least a year? Doesn't he look healthy and happy to you?"

Kazuha let out a sigh. "To some extent, yes, he's fine. But he won't be forever. Can't you tell how needy he is? All he wants is for you to show interest in him and praise him when he does well. He idolizes you, honestly, and you should try harder to live up to the person he thinks you are. That's all I ask. Goodnight."

After that, she walked away and Heiji was left not knowing what to say as she called out to Conan that they needed to get ready for bed.

A few days later, Heiji came home one night with a long jagged gash running down the length of his arm and Kazuha looked at him, appalled, before ordering him to go into the restroom and wait.

He did as he was told without complaint.

Minutes later, she came back with a bowl and a rag. "Where's the first aid kit?" she demanded.

"I-in the cabinet..." he stuttered out, shocked at her tone.

She pulled it out and set the bandages and antiseptic on the counter before filling the bowl with warm water and dipping the rag in it. Taking the small scissors from the kit, she cut off his sleeve and pulled it away and he hissed loudly.

"Shut up. I told Conan-kun you were okay and, damn it, you as hell better act like you're okay for him, got it? That means no screaming, yelling, hissing, moaning, or any synonyms of them. Now, hold still."

She took the cloth and, with surprising gentleness, cleaning the wound. Then she sprayed it down with the antiseptic spray and he resisted the urge to make some sort of vocal protest about it. Finally, she wrapped up him arm with the gauze and secured it with tape before backing away, obviously finished.

Heiji flexed his arm and winced slightly. "Pretty good at that, ain't ya?"

"My dad was a cop; he had his fair share of wounds. I've never been afraid of blood." She said as she put away her supplies and wiped up the crimson stains on the floor and sink.

"Well..." Heiji paused and used his good arm to rub the back of his neck in a nervous gesture. "Thanks, I guess. Normally Conan helps me clean up, but I always feel guilty, so....thanks. Thanks for keeping him out of it for once."

Kazuha smiled, taking the thanks as if they were a gift. "You're very welcome."

The next day, Heiji came home carrying a large box that he struggled to carry through the doorway. He set in down in the entryway with a loud thump and Kazuha came out of the living room, shocked to see him back so early, barely an hour after sunset, though she certainly had no idea when that was.

"What's that?" she asked and Conan came up beside her, looking at the box and Heiji curiously.

"You didn't bring back any puppies again, did you?" the boy asked and Heiji flushed.

"That was only once." He whispered to himself before turning back to them with a smile. "Nope, I got you guys a gift!"

Conan immediately started bouncing eagerly. "Can I open it? Can I? Can I? Can I?"

Heiji grinned. "Go for it, scamp."

Conan lunged for the box and gasped when he saw it was filled to the brim with books. On top were the kinds of colorful picture books that children read and Conan snatched them up and ran away with them like hell's hounds were at his heels, calling his thanks behind him.

"There are a couple of mathematics and grammar books at the bottom, and maybe some history too. I couldn't find any science books, but I did find one that used simple experiments to demonstrate stuff. Is that good enough for you, sensei?" Heiji asked and she nodded dumbly.

"Oh, one more thing." Heiji said, leaning down and grabbing a couple of thicker books from the box. He handed them to her with a faint smile. "I wasn't sure what kind books you were into, so I just grabbed the normal romance stuff that all girls seem to read."

Kazuha looked down at the novels in her hands, the latest bestsellers that she'd been dying to read. "I-I didn't ask for any books for me."

"Well, if you don't want them...." Heiji started.

"I do!" she blurted out and then blushed. "I do." She said again, softer this time. "Thank you, you didn't have to."

"You're welcome. You were right about Conan; he deserves to do something with that head of his." He said and Kazuha felt that this was almost like an apology for him. She accepted graciously.

"Well, thank you. Really."


	7. Packing

No less than two nights later, Heiji came home early again, a harsh look on his face.

"Conan-kun! Kazuha-chan! Get out here!" he yelled and the two ran out of the living room, wondering why he looked so angry.

Heiji focused his glare on Conan, who shrunk a little at the look and edged closer to Kazuha's legs. "Conan-kun, we're going to Osaka. Pack your things."

Conan smiled brightly, despite the fact that the glare on his mentor's face hadn't lifted. "That's all? Great! I love Osaka! We'll get takoyaki, right? Good, I'll get my stuff!"

The boy ran to his room eagerly and the glare turned to Kazuha, who valiantly did not flinch at the heated look in his eyes. "Am I waiting here?"

The glare intensified. "No. Leaving you with enough food to last the week we'll be gone is leaving you with enough food to run away with, should you manage to pick the lock. You're coming with us. So get what you need together." He tossed a backpack at her that she hadn't noticed in his a hand and she caught it, noticing that it already seemed slightly full. "I picked you up some more clothes; broke into your apartment. You don't mind, right?"

Kazuha looked at him warily. "Depends, did you get underwear?"

Heiji at least had the decency to blush. "Called in a favor and got Aoko-kun to pick out your clothes for you."

Kazuha felt her eyebrows rise. "Aoko-kun?"

"A friend of mine's wife. Don't worry about it." Heiji answered and Kazuha turned suddenly, her back facing him.

"When do we leave?" she asked and he resume his glower. "Tomorrow, before dawn. Go to sleep early."

Kazuha nodded and went to her room to pack her few meager possessions. Minutes later, Conan walked into the room with a large grin on his face. His excitement lit him up like the Tokyo Tower and she smiled despite herself.

"Osaka! Osaka! I love it when we go to Osaka!" he exclaimed and ran about the room, telling her all the things they would do. His main concern seemed to be consuming as many Osaka and Kyoto delicacies as possible.

"Conan-kun, I don't think we're going to be allowed to just run all over Osaka eating takoyaki and okonomiyaki. He's going to make us stay where ever it is we're staying, isn't he?" Kazuha said and Conan grinned.

"Nope! As long as we don't stay out past sundown, Heiji-niichan doesn't care what we do in Osaka! He even lets me go all by myself anywhere I want in the city limits! That's why going to Osaka is best! He doesn't even let me do that in Kyoto." Conan said, the smile never leaving his face.

"Why is that?" Kazuha couldn't help but ask.

"'Cause he says Osaka is the best place on Earth during the day! He doesn't worry about Osaka at all as long as the sun's out!" Conan said. "He even has a house there!"

"Oh, he does? Where is it? Underground again?" Kazuha asked and Conan shook his head.

"Nope, it's a big old-fashioned house with paper screens and sliding doors. But I'm not allowed upstairs. Only Heiji-niichan can go upstairs. He says that monsters worse than nightmares are up there and he can only fight them alone. Isn't he brave?"

Kazuha pondered over this for a moment before smiling at the boy. "Yes, Conan-kun, Heiji-kun is very brave, isn't he?"

Conan nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! What do you want to do while we're there?"

Kazuha paused. "If it's okay with Heiji-kun I....I'd like to visit my Otousan. It's been too long. I'll need to borrow a bit of money, to buy flowers."

"Your Otousan? I don't know, won't he tell on Heiji-niichan for keeping you? Can I meet him too?" Conan asked, skipping from one topic to another like children do and Kazuha laughed, ruffling his hair.

"Yes, Conan-kun, you can meet him, if you like. We'll visit my mother too. And don't worry, they won't tell. I doubt they can tell anyone anything anymore."

* * *

**Not much to say, other than this:**

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!!!!!!- An important plan is in the making right now, something that all of you, the readers are welcome to take part in. BUT before we can do anything, we need your help! We need to know Gosho Aoyama's address or his address for fanmail, though the first is preferable. So, a chanllenge to all of you out there! First person to get me a real, working, address for Gosho will get to request any sort of fic they want, any pairing, though please keep my sanity in mind with your requests, AND they will be let into the circle about this master plan before anyone else (who doesn't already know) finds out! So, what are you waiting for? Get to work!**


	8. Trip

They go to Osaka by train the next morning, when few people are on and fewer still are awake.

"Conan-kun, Kazuha-chan, no talking to anyone, understand?" Heiji says as they leave the house and Conan and Kazuha gave their affirmative without protest.

Now they were on the train and the landscape was passing by quickly enough to where you could barely make out the countryside before it was gone, not that it was stopping Conan, who spent the entire trip looking out the window and calling the different landmarks out to Kazuha, who'd look, only to find they'd already passed.

The train pulled to a stop at the Osakan station and Heiji stood up and grabbed his and Conan's bags. Kazuha grabbed hers and looked at him, knowing he'd have something to say.

"Conan, hold her hand. Kazuha-chan, don't you run." Heiji growled and Conan took the older girl's hand with a smile.

They exited the train station and hailed a cab easily. Conan and Kazuha got n the back and Heiji climbed in up front, rambling off an address in a gruff voice and the taxi driver took off at once, intimidated by the young man next to him.

"Why is he so uptight?" Kazuha whispered to Conan in the backseat.

"Hmm?" Conan said, turning away from the window and she gave him a moment as the words caught up with him. "Oh, that's because Heiji-niichan _hates _Osaka. He hates, _hates, __**hates **_it. That's what he told me."

"Why does he hate it so much?" Kazuha asked and Conan shrugged.

"I don't know, maybe business isn't good here?" Conan said, 'business' referring to the illegal firearms business she'd discovered he was the leader of.

"Shut up, you two." Heiji snapped from up front and the two straightened immediately, like guilty children. Minutes later, they arrived at what could only be described as a classical mansion, all wooden frames and sliding doors. Heiji got out briskly, grabbing up the bags and tossing some money at the cab driver. "Keep the change. Come, you two."

Kazuha and Conan scrambled out of the car and followed Heiji up the walk way. He pulled out a key and opened the door. He set Conan's bag next to a dusty doorway that led to an equally dusty living room before turning to them.

"Here are the rules. Number 1: Do not, under any circumstance, go upstairs. Ground floor only. Number 2: Do not move things without getting permission. Number 3: Be back before sundown, no exceptions. And when I say before sundown, I mean, _before_ sundown. Not right at sundown, not just after sundown**, **_before_. Number 4: Do not go anywhere without asking me first. And by asking me, I mean asking the night or morning before you plan to do it. No spontaneous trips. If you say you're heading downtown, then downtown is where you'll have stay all day. And I'll give you a cell phone to share, just in case. Number 5: Before you two go anywhere, I want the living room to get dusted and I want the china and counters in the kitchen clean. Do you both understand?"

Kazuha nodded and Conan moaned. "We have to clean? I hate cleaning! We're just going to leave and let it get all dusty again! Why? Why do we have to, Heiji-niichan?"

"No whining, scamp. Follow the Five Rules. Just five. If you need me, yell for me. I'll be upstairs." Heiji said and, with his bag slung over his shoulder, climbed the stairs and disappeared.

"Well, let's get to work. How about we start with the living room and then do the kitchen, Conan-kun?" Kazuha said, smiling and Conan grudgingly agreed, trudging after her into the other room. Unlike the actually house itself, the living room had a modern feel to it, a large plush couch in front of a moderately sized TV that seemed rather out of date and bookcases along the walls, their nealy arranged spines boasting detective stories. Everything was coated in a fine to thick layer of dust and Kazuha sighed.

"Heiji-kun!" Kazuha yelled and the man's face appeared at the top of the stairs.

"What?" he said and Kazuha thought that he sounded annoyed.

"If you want us to dust, you need to tell us where things are to dust with." Kazuha said and Heiji glared at her, more because she was right than because he was angry. "Cabinets under the sink." He said and disappeared again. Kazuha shook her head and fetched two towels from the appointed spot. She dampened one with the facet before returning to the living room.

"Okay, Conan-kun, the first thing we need to do is get all the dust out of that couch. So here's what I want you do. Go over there and start jumping on the couch and when the dust comes out, try to catch it with this rag, okay?" Kazuha said as she handed him the damp cloth and he grinned.

"I like cleaning this way!" he said as he started jumping and, soon enough, the dust stopped coming out as he bounced.

"Great job, Conan-kun! Next, we're going to get the bookshelves. How about we race? You do the bottom two shelves and the sides and I'll do the top four and whoever finishes first gets to pick the first place we go tomorrow, okay?" Kazuha said and Conan nodded eagerly.

And so it went, each chore became a game and work went by quickly, filled with laughter and competition. Finally, they were doing their last job, cleaning the dishes and silverware. Unfortunately, Kazuha told him they couldn't play games with the china, seeing as any sort of accident would cause the plates to break. So Kazuha washed and Conan dried, setting the plates on the counter after he was finished for Kazuha to put up later.

"Say, Conan-kun, what is this place?" Kazuha asked as they went about their respective jobs.

"It's Heiji-niichan's other house, of course!" Conan exclaimed happily.

"Well, why does he have it?" Kazuha asked, exasperatedly.

"I don't know, he just does." Conan answered with a small shrug and Kazuha sighed, taking the answer as it was.

But still, as she looked towards that forbidden stairway, she couldn't help but wonder about it.


	9. Monsters

Kazuha woke up the next morning with a slight crick in her neck and sun in her eyes. Next to her, having scooted so close in the night that he was all but underneath her, Conan snored obliviously, his glasses laying on the floor across the two futons that had been spread out for them the night before. Heiji had brought them down from the upper level of the house along with a couple of pillows before retreating up there to sleep.

Moving slowly, Kazuha rose to her feet, using her pillow as a replacement for her body and Conan snuggled up to it, mumbling drowsily before slipping back off to sleep again. Kazuha smiled and made her way towards the kitchen. She found the fridge empty and sighed as she began to look around for something to eat. But the cabinets were bare and she growled, frustrated before pulling out a chair from the table and flopping into it unceremoniously.

As she pouted, a dark chuckle sounded from behind her and she whipped around to find Heiji standing there, a plastic bag in his hand.

"You can't honestly be that hungry." He said, his tone amused and she glared at him before using her eyes to bore holes in the bag, picking out the shape of an egg carton at the bottom.

"If you give them, I'll make enough for you and Conan-kun too." She offered and he held it out with a barely disguised grin.

She grabbed the bag and found it filled with eggs, a quart of milk, some bread, and two travel-sized boxes of cereal. "Yes! Eggs, it is. You want yours scrambled?"

"Whatever, as long as they're cooked. Conan likes his sunny-side up." Heiji said and she nodded absentmindedly, already pulling out a pan.

"What are you and Conan-kun planning on today?" Heiji asked, sitting in her now abandoned chair.

"I don't know, probably eating takoyaki and looking at toy stores. I let Conan-kun win the cleaning races yesterday, so he gets first pick." Kazuha said, cracking an egg.

"That sounds about right, I'll give you guys some money then." He said and pulled out his wallet. Carefully, he took a large number of bills out and set them on the table. "Did you have anything you wanted to do then, Kazuha-chan?"

"I wanted to visit my parents since we're in the area-." She started.

"No." Heiji said, cutting her off.

"But-." She tried again.

"I said no you stupid girl! You'll just tell them you've been kidnapped and then I'll have the cops breathing down my neck again!" he said heatedly and she glared.

"Ahou! My parents are dead! I was trying to tell you that before you opened your big mouth!" she yelled and turned away. Heiji watched her in silence stunned by the outburst and the news. As he watched, she swiped at her eyes with her free hand and he felt guilty, for a short moment.

"Oi, don't cry. I didn't know they were dead, now did I? I-...My parents are dead too, okay? So you aren't the only person in the world without your folks. If you just were talking about visiting their graves, I don't have a problem with that." He said, fighting to sound nonchalant.

She sniffled quietly. "Thanks. Your eggs are done."

Heiji took the plate she gestured to and watched her as she cracked more eggs over the hot pan.

She sniffled again. "You know, that excuse about monsters doesn't quite float with me. Got anything better?"

Heiji went rigid before forcing himself back into a relaxed position. "But it's the truth. Just that my idea of monsters and the runt's idea of monsters aren't exactly the same. So, no going upstairs."

He took a bite of the eggs and watched her. She, in return, cooked the eggs and watched him back.

"Monsters of memory?" she asked at length.

He swallowed and gave her a look. "Something like that. I'm tired with this conversation. I'm leaving in a couple of minutes. Tell Conan to have fun. You can hold on to the money, Kazuha, but whatever he wants, he can have, same goes for you. No escape attempts, I'll catch you before you reach the city limits." He stood up then and made to leave.

She looked down quickly at his plate and was shocked to find it empty. When she looked up again, he was gone and she heard the distant noise of the back door shutting behind him as he left. She sighed heavily and finished making her eggs, putting the rest of the carton and the milk in the fridge before sitting down in the seat he'd stolen from her. She ate silently, the only sound being that of the fork scraping against the smooth china of the plate. Curiously, she examined the bills next to the empty plate and nearly dropped them in shock.

In her hands was approximately 100000 yen.

Well, he did say to have fun.

(It was only later that Kazuha realized that, just before he left, he hadn't used any sort of honorific on her name.)

* * *

After a full day of running around and buying out 4 shopping bags worth of toys, Kazuha and Conan finally returned back to house, tired but cheerful as they kicked of their shoes at the entrance.

"I'm gonna go play with these now, okay?" Conan said, bouncing in place as he waited for her dismissal

"That's fine, Conan-kun, try not to make a mess. I'll come in there and get the packages in a little bit, alright?" she said with a smile and he darted from the room, the bags dragging on the floor behind him.

Kazuha made her way to the small bookcase by the stairwell, which, in her mind, she had begun referring to as 'The Forbidden Staircase of No Return', not that she would ever say that aloud. Idly, she looked on the shelves for something to read, finding only old mystery novels and easy looking chapter books that she might've read in primary school. Sighing, Kazuha resigned herself to spending the night playing Karmen Yaiba before spotting the corner of a book on the very top of the bookcase. She looked at it curiously before deciding that she had to know what is was and standing on her tiptoes to snag the corner and pull it down.

It was dusty and old looking and when she finally had it wiped off enough to see it properly, she found that it was an old leather album filled with photos and labeled 'Baby's Book'. Even more curious now, she opened the cover.

On the first page was an old picture of a squalling baby, its eyes scrunched together and it's mouth open in a toothless scream. Underneath the faded picture, delicate cursive writing read 'Hattori Heiji March 14, 1977'. Suddenly, Kazuha had the feeling she should stop looking through the book. But, her fingers didn't listen to this thought and continued on, flipping the pages. The baby grew up at the number of pages on the left side grew. First steps, ice cream smeared across his face at his first birthday party. The baby's skin darken as he changed from infant to toddler and his eyes grew green. She had no doubt in her mind that she was treading on thin ice, but still, she flipped on. In the pictures alongside the child was sometimes a stern looking man or woman who smiled down upon the boy. She thought they must be his parents and wondered about what she had heard him say that morning about them.

The boy in the book continued growing from frame to frame. In one picture, all three of the family were present. The Heiji of the past looked about ten years old and was holding a kendo trophy in his arms and smiling wide. His mother looked down on him with affection in her eyes and his father had a hand on his son's shoulder, looking like the proudest man in the world. It was here where this story without words took a different twist though. The next set of photographs looked as though they might've come from one of the folders her father used to bring home from work. Bloody, crimson nightmares on hardwood floors. Handprints and fingernails no longer attached. Ragged cuts and pale faces that she recognized from just only the page before. The man and woman lay on the cold ground. The boy was no where in sight.

The final picture was of the boy once again, older looking and hard faced. He stood tall in the doorway to the kitchen and the lights were dim around him. He had on the blue coat she had come to associate with him and his SAX hat, turned backwards on his head as he glared at the camera. Next to the picture were five words that told everything. 'I'm not a baby anymore.'

As she sat, staring at this final picture, the door opened and closed loudly and footsteps could be heard walking towards her. "Oi, Conan-kun, Kazuha-chan where are..you....?" he trailed off as he saw her sitting there in the floor, the book in her lap and dust on her face from the pages. She looked at him with wide, caught, eyes and they both knew she knew she was doing something wrong.

"What. The. Hell. Are. You. Doing?"

* * *

**Sorry for the late update everyone! I've been having some real life problems that have interfered a little bit. It's really no excuse, as I had plenty of time and all, but I didn't want to write, so I'm sorry. Either way, I got a nice review on this today that reminded me I had a chapter to finish, so I got my butt in gear and got it done! (and for that, everyone, please give a big shout out to MyMelo!) Also, the date for Heiji's birth was completely fictional and the year was calculated from the year the manga was first published, 1994. So that's where that came from. So, now that we're done with that, please review!  
**


	10. Crash

"I-!" Kazuha stuttered, starting to explain herself before Heiji marched over, grabbing her by the wrist and yanking her up. The album thumped on the wooden floor and sent up a cloud of dust.

"Come with me." Heiji said, no give in his voice and he dragged her out the back door. His expression was as dangerous as she'd ever seen it. She thought to cry out, for she didn't think Heiji would let Conan see anything upsetting, but she dared not.

He stalked over to a shed and pushed her roughly inside, closing and locking the door with a bang before turning to her angrily. She backed up and raised her arms slightly in self-defense.

"What did you think you were doing, huh? Are you stupid, is that it?" he yelled, pushing closer still to her, his face red with anger.

"You didn't say not to look at the books!" she said in her defense.

"I shouldn't have to! You knew better than that! You don't just go pawing through other people's things!" Heiji moved closer as he raged and Kazuha averted her eyes. "Do you have anything to say for yourself?" Belatedly, her noticed her turned away gaze. "Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

Kazuha's mouth turned down into a frown and her jaw set stubbornly.

Heii growled audibly, before grabbing her chin and forcing her to face him. Her eyes darted away defiantly. With a shout, he pushed her away harshly and she crashed into a wall of shelves. She heard a terrific calamity above her head and saw paint cans falling towards her face. They moved almost in slow motion as they came tumbling down. Time froze and for a moment, she could even read the label on the one heading for her head. Sea-green. It seemed so fitting.

She turned her face away and tried to shield her head, to no avail.

As her head throbbed painfully, she looked up and saw green eyes, anger giving way to something else. But before she could identify it properly, her head throbbed again, painfully and insistent.

And then the world went black.

* * *

**Wow, its been a long time, hasn't it? Oops? ^_^' I didn't mean for it to happen, I promise, it just did! But, I really do want to see this story finished and its not too far from being over anyways, because if I'm remembering correctly, the time skip comes around in a few more chapters. And after the time skip its all downhill. Actually, this scene right here is the real turning point of the story, but that won't make sense for a while, trust me. **

**Either way, sorry again about the amount of time its been and sorry about how short this chapter was. It was always supposed to be this way though, so no complaining. Kirby's just been, preoccupied.**

**KIRBY: *muttering to self* And then there will be winglets! And one will die! No, wait, there's katie and the guilt, stupid conscience...AHA! Alternate universes! I'm a genius! And then they can come to normal-verse and THEN! Oh then the go on a-a journey! I'm brilliant! BRILLIANT!  
**

***sweat drop* Yes, well, let's just say she likes our new project a lot. So much that it painful. Very painful. I need more caffeine.**

**Nevermind. Just, I don't know, R&R? Because honestly, the more proof I have that someone out there is still reading this, the more I'm likely to attempt to finish it.  
**


	11. Burn

The first think she thought when she woke up was unprintable.

The second went something like this.

_'paaain panic fear __**pain**__'_

She groaned involuntarily and then stifled the sound, but it was too late.

"You up?" asked a gruff voice and she flinched and coughed.

A sigh reached her ears. "Conan, go get her some water of something."

"Yes, Heiji-niichan!"

"Might as well open you're eyes. You ain't fooling anyone." he said and, reluctantly, she did as she was told, squinting up at Heiji who was leaning over her with a strange expression on his face.

"Here, Kazuha-neechan!" Conan exclaimed, running in with a glass of water and thrusting it into her hands.

Kazuha drank gratefully, water soothing her dry throat and mouth.

"Thank you, Conan-kun." she said after a moment and he beamed at her.

"I was worried about you, Kazuha-neechan. You need to be more careful." the little boy told her with forced solemnly, his joy at seeing her awake again cracking his resolve to be disappointed in her for her so-called carelessness.

Kazuha looked sideways at Heiji, who said nothing and wasn't even looking at her. "I will, Conan-kun, promise."

"Go outside and play for a minute, runt. Me and Oneesan need to talk for a minute." Heiji said and Conan pouted.

"But Heiji-niichan, she just woke up!" the boy whined and Heiji fixed him with a stern look.

"Now, Conan." Heiji said and, huffing grumpily, Conan grabbed his nearest toy, a retro Cyborg 009 action figure, and marched out the backdoor.

As soon as the door slammed shut behind the child, Heiji turned back to Kazuha, who had shrugged off the covers as was sitting up and looking at him intently.

"You need to leave." he informed her without preamble and her eyes went wide.

"Leave?" she repeated, shocked, and he scowled.

"You ain't going to tell no one, are you?" she shook her head. "Then leave. Get out of here. Go back to your life and leave us to ours. Forget you ever heard the name Hattori Heiji and if Kudo askes you anything, tell him where to shove it."

"How can you-? After all this time, you're just going to tell me to leave? Just like that?" she exclaimed.

"Yes. Now go already! Get out of here, you stupid girl. Get you things and run and don't come back!" Heiji said, face twisting as he glowered at her.

"Leave? Right now? How am I supposed to get home? You complete, utter **ahou! **You can't just do whatever you want with people and expect them to be okay with it!" Kazuha said, standing up and matching him glare for glare.

"This is my house and I can order you out anytime I like!" He threw some bills at her and turned his back, walking towards the backdoor at a furious pace. "Buy a train ticket and leave. I don't want to look at you anymore."

The door closed softly behind him, the sound contrasting with the loud voices of moments prior and the house was silent and unnerving.

Quietly, Kazuha gathered her things and left. And if she made any noise as she did, it certainly was not the sound of stifled sobs.

* * *

**Once again, sorry for the delay, though I made better time than the last update. And sorry for the slightly cliffhanger**. **Good news, though, very, very little time left until the time skip. Man, I can't decide if you guys are going to hate me or what!**

**Either way, review, if you will, it'd be much appreciated and props to forgive-forget-princess for motivating me to go ahead and write this. **

**Expect another long wait, though, Kirby is still quite wrapped up in our Original Fiction story we're writing (the prologue is up on our LJ if anyone's interested and I can put more up if anyone requests it) so she's not paying very much attention to fanfiction and, even if she was, those of you who read Salute should know what we're focused on right now anyways. **

**Thanks for reading!  
-katie and Kirby**


	12. Dust

When she made it home, things were just as she left them. The newspaper was still on the table. Her pajamas were still on the floor. Her jacket was still hung by the door, for she hadn't been wearing her own jacket when she'd left. She'd been wearing his...

The only things disturbed were her dresser drawers. Several of her outfits and underwear were gone. The person who'd come and fetched them had left no traces.

Over everything was a thin layer of dust and Kazuha sighed and sneezed as she looked about. Home was so empty.

"I've never talked to myself before," Kazuha said aloud. ",but I might have to start. This silence is too much."

Quickly, she turned on the television. The news reporter droned about some sort of thieves crime ring on the run, but Kazuha paid no attention. Idly, she went to check her phone for messages.

There were none.

The days passed by quickly, one after the other, endless repeats of the same worn routine. She went to school and struggled to catch up on her missed work. Her professor's inquired to where she'd been with little curiosity and she lied unconsciously, unwilling to betray him, even after everything.

She found Kudo Shinichi's address and wandered over to his house one day, a large, Western-style mansion in the Beika district.

The door opened before the doorbell finished ringing and the same young woman from that first day answered.

"Oh, hello! I remember you from Hei-"

I cut her off before she could finish. "Is Kudo-san here?"

Yes, hold on for a moment please." the girl ducked back into the house. "Shinichi!" I heard her yell.

A few moments later he appeared, smiling disarmingly at her. "Toyama-san, may I help you?"

"I just wanted to let you know that I was back." Kazuha said, upset a little on the inside that he'd never tried to come free her.

"Thanks for helping me get Ran back. I mean, Hat-"

I cut him off as well. "That's all, then. I'll see you around. Goodbye."

Weeks passed. Her life was boring, monotonous. Finally, she couldn't stand it.

Grabbing her jacket, her own jacket, not his because she'd given it back when she should've just kept it and stayed away, Kazuha took her purse and left her flat. She traveled to that warehouse at the end of that forlorn street. She descended into the the basement and wandered through the tunnels until she saw two doors. At the second one, she paused and knocked.

"Whose there?" a little voice chripped.

"Its me." Kazuha called back and the door was flung open.

"Kazuha-neechan!"

* * *

**The HK part of this fandom dies when I'm not here to baby it. Seriously. I come back to try and read stuff and there's like, four new stories for them since the last time I posted a chapter. It makes me sad! **

**Irregardless, here's the newest section, only one more until the time skip! And then everything gets crazy. And then the story is over. Which will be sad. But good, because it'll mean I won't have the opportunity to leave it unfinished. Which I would really hate to do.**

**Next chapter is all but finished already, but I'd like some confirmation that there's still people reading this before I post another one. Because I just won't bother if no one's reading it. :)  
**


	13. Embers

Kazuha looked down at the child who had attached himself to her legs and smiled gently.

"Hi, Conan-kun." she said softly, one hand stroking his head.

"Why'd you leave me?" he asked, his voice muffled against her pants legs. His glasses dug into her shins painfully, but she didn't think of asking him to move.

"I needed to go back home for a little while. Don't worry, everything's going to be okay." she said. "I need to talk to Heiji-kun."

"Hey, runt, whose at the door?" Heiji called from inside, as if on cue. Kazuha looked up just as he rounded the corner. Green eyes met green eyes and they stared at each other over Conan's head. Kazuha let her fingers rest there in his soft, little-boy hair.

"It's you." Heiji stated inflictionlessly.

"Yes, it's me." Kazuha said, her voice still mild.

"What do you want?" He asked her.

Kazuha glanced down at Conan, who'd yet to unattach himself from her and shook her head wordlessly.

"Oi, Conan, go read in the other room for a minute. Oneesan and I need to talk." Heiji said, addressing his young charge.

"No." Conan said, holding on tighter.

"I said-"

"No! Last time you sent me away, Kazuha-neechan left without telling me goodbye! I don't _want _to leave!" Conan exclaimed loudly, not easing his grip for a moment.

"I'll make sure to say goodbye if I need to leave, Conan-kun. I won't leave before I do, I promise." Kazuha said fondly, running her fingers through his hair. "Look, I even brought you a new book. You can read it while we talk and then tell me if it was good." Kazuha pulled the brightly colored picture book from her purse, which was really large enough to be called a messenger bag, and offered it to him when he looked up, the pressure of his glasses easing off her shins. The book was thick for a child's book and Conan eyed it, obviously wanting to read it very badly.

"You promise you'll say goodbye? Do you pinky promise?" Conan pressed, looking up at her.

Kazuha offered him her pinky. "I promise."

Conan took the book and disappeared into his bedroom slowly, glancing over his shoulder several times before closing the door.

"So." Heiji said as soon as the child had left.

"So." Kazuha repeated, staring at him head on.

"You came back." Heiji said and she nodded.

"I did." she confirmed and Heiji glared at her without venom.

"Do you think you're staying here or something?" Heiji demanded of her and she shook her head, smiling faintly.

"No, I don't." she paused and took a deep breath. "Tell me, Heiji, how much do you love him?"

"What?" Heiji stumbled, expecting anything but that.

"How much do you love Conan-kun?" she asked plainly. "Because I love him a lot. Enough know that this isn't good for him. He needs people. He needs someone reliable. Dependable. Consistent. He needs to go to school." She took another breath. "If he wanted to go, do you love him enough to let him take what I'm offering? Do you?"

"But Conan stays here with me..." Heiji protested weakly, caught off guard still. "He's the only one..."

"Are you selfish enough to keep him if he wants to go? Does his well-being mean that little to you? If it does, I'll call him back and say goodbye now. I won't mention what I have to offer. A room above ground. Home cooked meals instead of take out and Instant Ramen. School and friends his own age. I won't mention any of it. I'll say goodbye and I'll leave." Kazuha said, truth echoing in her words.

Heiji slumped. "No, I'm not that selfish. Despite everything, if he wanted to go, I couldn't deny him. I just...why do you have to make things so hard? He's the only person I trust..."

"You can come visit. Not too often, not when people are looking for you. But if you wanted to visit, I wouldn't begrudge you that." Kazuha said. She, too, sounded desperate in her own way. "Or we could come here. But it isn't fair to him. It really isn't."

Heiji hung his head in silence for a few long moments that stretched out for eternity in the space between them. He shook his head, once, twice. As he looked up, his eyes met hers. They were compassionate, tinged with some emotion foreign to him and he could no longer deny the truth.

"Conan-kun, come here." he called and the boy popped out of his room, looking uneasy at the tension between the two adults.

"Yes?" he asked, glancing between them.

"I have an extra room in my apartment, Conan-kun. I was wondering if you wanted to come stay with me. I can sign you up for school and walk you there in the morning, its on my way to college. Would you like that?" Kazuha offered, trying not to sound desperate that he come with her, accept her offer of a better life.

Conan glanced between them again. Heiji's eyes were fixed on some unseen point.

"What about Heiji-niichan?" Conan asked, clutching his new book to his chest.

"He has to stay here. But he can come visit us. We could all go to the park or go out to eat or something. That'd be nice, wouldn't it? I bet you haven't eaten in an actual restaurant in a while, have you?" Kazuha said, smiling at him.

"Heiji-niichan?" Conan asked, wanting it so bad, but terrified of the change.

Heiji looked up and smiled guardedly at him. "You do what you think is best, scamp. Don't worry about me."

Conan wavered in the middle of them.

"Do you want to think about it some more? I can come back later. I just wanted you to know, my door is open." Kazuha said, giving him an easy out to take but he shook his head frantically.

"Don't leave!" he exclaimed. Obviously, he had suffered her loss when she'd left. He looked frightened, cornered, but he didn't want her to go yet.

He peered at Heiji. "Will you come visit, Heiji-niichan?"

"Of course, runt." Heiji said unconvincingly.

"Do you promise?" Conan asked.

"I'll do you one better, I'll pinky promise." The two of them linked pinkies and shook.

"Will we visit Ran-neechan?" Conan asked of Kazuha.

"If you want to." Kazuha said. Still he wavered.

"...Okay." Conan said at length. He glanced at Heiji, wary of hurting his longtime guardian. The dark-skinned man looked at them, defeated.

"Want me to pack your things for you? So you can say goodbye?" Kazuha offered.

"Yes, please." the little boy said. Kazuha disappeared around the corner and Conan looked up at Heiji.

"Are you mad at me?" Conan asked.

"No, I'm not mad." Heiji said, shooting for normal and ending up at forlorn.

"Will you be very lonely?"

Heiji smiled. "Conan, I lived by myself for years before you showed up. I'll be fine. You shouldn't worry about me. Do good in school. Show them all how much smarter you are than them."

Conan sniffled. "Okay."

"Conan-kun, I've got all your clothes but there's so many toys in here. Did you want all of them?" Kazuha called out then.

Heiji smiled. "Pick the important ones, scamp. I'll bring the rest by when I visit. That way you know I'm coming for sure, right?"

Conan lit up. "Yeah, for sure! I'm coming, Kazuha-neechan!"

The little boy jumped into packing with enthusiasm. Almost an hour later, they were nearly ready to go.

"Its just goodbye for a little while. You'll see him soon." Kazuha promised, not sure who she was speaking to. Conan hugged Heiji hard before Kazuha took his hand in hers.

"Bye, Heiji-niichan." Conan said.

"Bye, Conan." Heiji said back.

The pair started to leave when Heiji stopped them, fumbling with his wallet.

"Wait, you're gonna need to buy him some more clothes, right? And soap and toothpaste and food. Kids need different stuff than adults, right? Things with colors and-and... Here." Heiji offered Kazuha a wad of bills.

"I couldn't possibly-"

"Take it." Heiji insisted. "It's the least I can do. Just take it and buy him some nice stuff so he looks nice in front of the other kids. Make sure he looks the nicest of them all."

Kazuha recognized his actions, heard in his voice the desperation to do something more, anything at all.

"Okay. Thank you. We'll go shopping before I enroll him and he can pick out what he wants." Kazuha said. She slipped the money into her bag, separate from her own. Off of her arms hung bags of Conan's clothes and toys. Conan carried his own duffel of things as well.

"Good. Goodbye then. Be safe." Heiji said.

"We will. I'll see you when you come to visit, Heiji-niichan. Bye!" Conan said, hugging Heiji once more.

"Goodbye." Kazuhua said softly.

Then they left and Kazuha shut the door behind her with a soft click.

Hattori Heiji, the most influential and feared criminal in Tokyo, went to bed. And if his pillow was wet before he went to sleep, it was because he was sweaty. Nothing more.

* * *

**And...TIME SKIP! Almost there! Thanks to everyone who reviewed the last chapter! I'm throughly convinced there are still people reading this. Even if, as far as fanfiction goes, its rather ancient. Though I've got nothing on Ysabet and Becky Tailweaver. *grin* Lovies you all! I'll see you next time with Life-After-Time-Skip! I'm pretty sure we only have two chapters left!  
**


	14. Glow

**~Several Months Later~**

"Conan-kun!" Kazuha called into her apartment from the kitchen.

"Yes, Kazuha-neechan?" Conan yelled back even as the sound of the boisterous laughing of children continued.

"Time for your friends to go home. Remember our plans for tonight?" Kazuha called, smiling. She'd never realized how quiet her apartment really was before. Now it was always filled with such sounds. She found that, as fiercely independent as she'd seen herself, she wanted what Conan had brought with him. The sound of children laughing, the slap of little slippers on the floor, the badly-written cartoons in the evenings, these sounds had been like medicine to heal her heart of loneliness.

"Yes!" Conan said and his voice was excited as he was reminded what day it was. Conan's friends came walking out of his room, still chatting and giggling and going on like children do. Anyone but children wouldn't be rushed out so fast. They would pause and give their thanks for being invited over, exclaim over how nice the home was, how kind the host, exchange all the meaningless necessities that came with being an adult. Not children, though, they just called behind them as they left, things they'd forgotten to say, like 'thank you' and 'see you tomorrow'.

"Bye!" Conan called before shutting the door, beaming up at Kazuha with a bright smile.

"Alright, go on and change while I clean up and then we'll leave." Kazuha said and, with that, Conan darted off, whooping in excitement. Kazuha was already dressed, but children needed snacks as they played and now she had dishes to wash. She didn't mind, though. She was settling in nicely.

A few minutes later, Conan appeared, clothes nice, but crumpled. Laughing quietly, Kazuha went about straightening his blue dress shirt's collar and tried to pat the creases out from him little pair of black pants. He wouldn't tolerate the iron tonight, he was much too excited and she didn't blame him. It'd been over a month this time.

"Okay then, Conan-kun, let's go." Kazuha said, taking his little boy hand in hers.

Then they were off, into the taxi and across town, getting out at the nice restaurant and going in. He would already be there, she was sure, and she was proved correct when she saw him flagging them down with a huge grin on his tanned face.

"Heiji-niichan!" Conan cried out gleefully, rushing over to hug his hero.

"Hey scamp!" Heiji exclaimed back, just as excited. He lived for these moments, when he wasn't the feared Hattori, but just Heiji-niichan, who was loved by one little boy.

The dinner went smoothly, the innocent chatter of what some would swear was a broken family and others would see as one that was beginning to be stitched together.

But all good things end and Heiji paid the bill with a sigh, looking wistfully at the two of them.

"I guess it's time to go." Heiji mumbled, looking disheartened.

"Do you have to, Heiji-niichan?" Conan whined. "You could spend the night. Just one night, please!"

"I don't think that's such a great idea, scamp." Heiji said, glancing quickly at Kazuha.

"Please, please, please! Kazuha-neechan's been helping me read the newspaper and I know you haven't been in there for a while! Please, just one night?" Conan pleaded.

"You what?" Heiji said, shocked, his gaze darting back between the two of them.

"The kanji was too hard for him. He's getting better." Kazuha said with a blush.

"But-" Heiji started, only to be cut off.

"If Conan-kun wants you to spend the night, I don't mind. You can share with him. What harm could it do?"

Looking at the big blue eyes set behind the large lenses, Heiji sighed in defeat. "One night."

Conan cheered and Heiji saw the slightest of smiles pull at Kazuha's lips. Not that he was looking at her lips, that is. No, not at all.

Conan grabbed Heiji's hand with his right hand and Kazuha's with his left, leaving him bouncing along between them. Over his head, the two young adults traded cauious glances.

* * *

Conan didn't let one moment of the night go to waste. They played with toys, baked a cake, read a book, watched a movie; they did a thousand things before Kazuha finally told Conan that enough was enough and it was time for bed. The most imporatant part for the child, seemed to be that they were all together.

It was during the movie, though, that Heiji understood why. They lights were out, the only illumination coming from the colorful animation on screen and Kazuha had slipped into a light doze on the other side of the couch, Conan squished between the two of them and looking more than happy to be there. The movie was at a slow point, for the little boy, at least, as the hero exchanged a heart-warming farewell to his lady, with a promise to return soon.

Conan sighed contentedly, snuggling into Heiji's side.

"It's almost the same." The child whispered, so softly Heiji barely caught it.

"Hmm?" the dark-skinned man asked, looking at the boy in question.

"It's almost the same. The same as Touchan and Kaachan. Almost. I'm starting to forget what they looked like, but I remember that we watched movies like this, with me in the middle. And Kaachan would always fall asleep…" the little boy yawned.

Heiji watched the rest of the movie in silence, but inside, he was a maelstrom of emotion, thoughts, and prevailing feeling that there was something he was missing, some power he had that could, if not fix everything, then at least make things better. The movie finished and Kazuha shooed them off to bed, heading there herself as she did. And still, Heiji's thoughts churned. They kept spinning as he brushed his teeth. As he tucked Conan in. As he shut off the lamp. As he laid down on his own futon on the floor.

And then it hit him.

In the darkness of the room, Heiji's smile was only lit by the orange glow of the nightlight and the pale glimmer of the moon.

* * *

**Oh, what's this? An update on a fic all of you thought was abandoned? Ha! Shows you, I didn't forget, I was just...busy, yeah, busy. With important things! **_(like writing a Pokemon fanfic__...)_

**KIRBY: And becoming a slasher!**

**SHE LIES**!

**KIRBY: Oh, then what's this? *brandishes Red/Green fanart***

**MUSE OF EVILLLLLL!**

**KIRBY: We will have this discussion later. Most likely on LJ, when you get around to confessing, you _slasher_! Until then, you should finish explaining yourself.**

**Right, right. Anyways, no, I didn't forget, there's probably only one or two more chapters left, I'd say one if I had to flat out guess. And this would be the Timp Skip I've been alluding to for forever, so there's that. I'm kinda sorry to say, though, this is probably going to end up a lot less fluffy than you might expect from me, considering how much I like my happy endings.**

**KIRBY: Right, like all those happy endings you've written before! Like Snapshots, where you killed off small children and deprived a child of his father for at least six years, if I'm remembering right. Or Choice, where you eventually did decide to kill off another small child, for no particular reason. Oh, or even Project Arachne, where you tortured Ran for several chapters before saving her life by rendering her infertile!**

**...Okay, so no one should be expecting a happy ending out of me. But it will be! Happy that is. At least somewhat...NO SMALL CHILDREN WERE HARMED.**

**KIRBY: I would like to nominate Conan, for emotional abuse!**

**PHYSICALLY HARMED. *cough* Anyways, here's the part where your lovely feedback makes me feel guilty and write chapters quicker! So, in other words, please review!**


End file.
